[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 37 (Wednesday, March 7, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E332-E333]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  PROCLAIMING THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES' RECOGNITION OF THE 100TH 
 ANNIVERSARY OF PATRICIA NIXON'S BIRTH IN ELY, NEVADA ON MARCH 16, 2012

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MARK E. AMODEI

                               of nevada

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 7, 2012

  Mr. AMODEI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 100th 
anniversary of the birth of Thelma Catherine ``Pat'' Ryan Nixon in Ely, 
Nevada.
  Pat was born the youngest of four children on March 16th, 1912, in 
the small mining town of Ely, Nevada to William M. Ryan, Sr., a sailor, 
gold miner, and truck farmer of Irish descent and Katherine 
Halberstadt, a German immigrant. Thelma Catherine Ryan was nicknamed 
``Pat'' because of her Irish heritage. In fact, the family always 
celebrated her birthday on the Irish holiday of St. Patrick's Day, 
March 17th.
  Pat and her family moved to a small town near Los Angeles when she 
was just a year old. She grew up with typical Western self-sufficiency. 
It has often been said that the mining community in Ely and her 
family's own straightened circumstances helped mold her into the strong 
person that she became.
  Upon enrolling in college in 1931, she unofficially dropped her given 
name Thelma, replacing it with Pat and occasionally rendering

[[Page E333]]

it as Patricia. On June 21, 1940, Pat married Richard Milhouse Nixon at 
Mission Inn, Riverside, California. The two met while they were 
performing in a theater production of ``The Dark Tower.'' During World 
War II, she worked as a government economist while Richard served in 
the Navy. She campaigned tirelessly alongside her husband as he ran for 
Congress, the Senate, and, later, the Vice Presidency.
  On January 20th, 1969, Richard Milhouse Nixon was sworn in as the 
37th President of the United States. Pat became First Lady, the first, 
and so far only, woman from Nevada to serve in that role.
  While in the White House, Pat publicly advocated for women to become 
more involved in the political process. She also used her position as 
First Lady to encourage volunteer service, opened the White House to 
more visitors, and added 600 paintings and antiques to the White House 
collection. She also traveled extensively, earning the unique 
diplomatic standing of ``Personal Representative of the President.''
  Patricia Nixon passed away on June 22, 1993, and is buried at the 
Richard Nixon Birthplace and Museum in Yorba Linda, California.
  March 16, 2012, marks the 100th anniversary of Patricia Nixon's birth 
in Ely, Nevada. I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating and 
recognizing the varied, significant contributions that Pat Nixon made 
throughout her life, particularly as the First Lady of the United 
States.

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